"Holier-than-Thou"

1 Peter 1:13-16,"Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct;  for it is written, “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Why is it when people see others striving to be Christlike, they think you are trying to be "perfect" or trying to convince others you "got it all together"? I have been called "holier-than-thou" and I have to admit that I used to take offense to it until I understood the truth in the above scriptures. I want to make a few things clear, perfection is an impossible task and no one has it all together! However, with God's wisdom and the power of the Holy Spirit's indwelling, we can choose to live a life pleasing to Christ which our Father has called us to. I know, it's shocking that the One who is Holy desires us to conduct ourselves in a manner that identifies us with Himself but it's true read 1 Peter.

I want you to imagine standing before a judge who just pardoned you from a death penalty. In your excitement you say, "Honorable judge, whatever you ask I will do for I am indebted to you." There were terms and condition which led to your freedom and one is having a court ordered witness following you wherever you go, to make sure you live according to the agreement. At first you're grateful and overwhelmed with joy, not minding this witness following you around. But eventually you get tired of him watching your every move and you try to escape his presence. You want to honor the judge who set you free but you begin thinking maybe going back to prison on death row would be easier than living up to the judges expectations....

In the same sense, God has pardoned our sins and freed us from an eternal death penalty. He has sent the Holy Spirit to live in His children to help us live a life that is honorable and moral, showing our allegiance to God. It's hard to live up to His standards but it is possible because He lives in His people.

Honestly, I am tired of "Christians" looking down on those of us who are striving to live a life according to God's standards. Saying things like, "Stop judging me and acting like you're all holier-than-thou. This is my life and God is my judge." I have news for you, if you have been bought by the blood of Jesus, the Bible says, "You are not your own" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). If you truly believe that God is your Judge, then why would you live as though He is not. We will all stand before Him and give an account for the way we live our lives (Hebrews 4:13). So let's stop passing judgment and start encouraging one another to live as Christ. You say don't judge all the while you are pointing your judgmental finger at me, and when we do this to one another, are we not doing it to Christ who is in us?

Lord, help me to live my life in a way that is worthy of the Gospel. Help me where I fail and help me to not fall into Satan's traps. "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my ways. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way." Forgive me of all my wrongs.
Lord, my desire is to know You and be known by You. I desire to share Your love and forgiveness with the world that so desperately needs You. I pray, as the Body of Christ, we will live out the desires of Your heart which is; to Love You, with ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and secondly, to love our neighbor as our selves. When we follow Your path, it brings GLORY to Your Name! Thank You, Jesus for ALL You went through so that we can be in an intimate relationship with our Father in heaven! All to you, I owe! You alone are worthy of our "holier-than-thou" life!
I love You, Jesus. My Savior. My King, My God! You alone are worthy of my life!

Do You Love Him?

Our relationship with God is of the upmost importance, atleast it should be. Have you ever went a day without thinking about your spouse or children, you know those closest to you? I am positive I have never went a whole 24 hours without thinking about those I love the most. So why is it that God gets left out of our daily living?

Mark 12:30 "So love the Lord God with all your passion, prayer, intelligence and energy." The Message Bible

If I LOVE God the way I'm supposed to with All my passion(heart),prayer(soul),intelligence(mind),energy(strength), there wouldn't be a day that goes by without me thinking on Him in some way. As Jesus says in Mark we are to always be mindful of him. We are to LOVE Him with everything in us!

I am truly thankful to Jesus for all He has shown me, for the love He has given me, and for the future He has for me. I do beleive I am in a stage of my Christian life that I do NOT go a day without thinking on Him, praying to Him, praising Him, Loving Him! I DO LOVE YOU JESUS!